INTRODUCTION Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the toxic residue of tobacco smoke that persists long after tobacco smoking on the clothing and hair of smokers and in the surrounding environment. This study aimed to assess parents' beliefs about THS in terms of harm and persistence in the environment and evaluate associations between parents' THS beliefs and home smoking rules. METHODS A sample of parents living in Kuwait were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Parents reported home smoking rules (strict, partial, and no, home smoking ban) and completed the 9-item Beliefs About ThirdHand Smoke (BATHS) scale that assessed parents' overall, health, and persistence beliefs about THS. Associations between the quartiles of THS overall, health, and persistence beliefs scores and home smoking rules were evaluated using a modified Poisson regression, and adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. RESULTS In total, 536 parents (404 females) were enrolled in the study, with 42.0% (n=225) and 43.6% (n=234) reporting a strict or partial home smoking ban, respectively. The prevalence of a strict home smoking ban was higher among never smokers than among ever smokers (49.1% vs 25.2%, p<0.001). The majority of participants indicated that THS exposure harms the health of children (67.2%) and adults (60.6%) and THS residue could remain for days in the environment (58.9%). The prevalence of a strict home smoking ban increased as THS overall (APRQ4 vs Q1 = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.12-1.96), health (APRQ4 vs Q1 = 1.22; 1.02-1.45), and persistence (APRQ4 vs Q1 = 1.55; 1.17-2.05) beliefs scores increased. CONCLUSIONS Parents' harm and persistence beliefs about THS were associated with enforcing a strict home smoking ban, which provides a safer environment for children and non-smokers. Therefore, tobacco prevention programs need to incorporate educational messages about the harm of THS in an attempt to promote smoke-free homes.

中文翻译：

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科威特父母对三手烟及其与家庭吸烟规则关系的看法：一项横断面研究。

引言 三手烟 (THS) 是烟草烟雾的有毒残留物，在吸烟后长期存在于吸烟者的衣服和头发上以及周围环境中。本研究旨在评估父母对 THS 的危害和环境持久性方面的信念，并评估父母的 THS 信念与家庭吸烟规则之间的关联。方法 将居住在科威特的父母样本纳入一项横断面研究。父母报告了家庭吸烟规则（严格、部分和禁止家庭吸烟）并完成了 9 项关于三手烟的信念 (BATHS) 量表，该量表评估了父母对 THS 的整体、健康和坚持信念。使用修正的泊松回归评估 THS 总体四分位数、健康和坚持信念分数与家庭吸烟规则之间的关联，并估计了调整后的患病率 (APR) 和 95% 置信区间 (CI)。结果 总共有 536 名父母（404 名女性）参加了研究，分别有 42.0% (n=225) 和 43.6% (n=234) 报告严格或部分家庭禁烟。从不吸烟者中严格家庭禁烟的流行率高于曾经吸烟者（49.1% 对 25.2%，p<0.001）。大多数参与者表示，THS 暴露会损害儿童 (67.2%) 和成人 (60.6%) 的健康，并且 THS 残留物可能会在环境中保留数天 (58.9%)。随着 THS 总体（APRQ4 与 Q1 = 1.48；95% CI：1.12-1.96）、健康（APRQ4 与 Q1 = 1.22；1.02-1.45）和持续性（APRQ4 与 Q1 = 1.55； 1.17-2.05）信念得分增加。结论 父母的 关于 THS 的伤害和坚持信念与执行严格的家庭吸烟禁令有关，这为儿童和非吸烟者提供了一个更安全的环境。因此，烟草预防计划需要纳入有关 THS 危害的教育信息，以推广无烟家庭。